Where is God in All of This?

Sermon Message

"Where is God in All of This?"

Pastor Jerry

Romans 5:1-8 (NLT)

 

------------------------------------- Message Synopsis -------------------------------------

We are in the middle of the Labor Day weekend. I think Labor Day is a kind of strange holiday. To the worker, it may be a day off. For policemen, it’s a tough day. To farmers & ranchers, it’s just another day of work. It is the end of summer. Schools are scrambling trying to start up again. Indeed, celebrating the work we do is a very important part of our life. Colossians 3:23-24: "Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord....It is the Lord Jesus Christ you are serving." But work in our world today is in the midst of a great storm: there are millions of people out of work because of the Coronavirus Pandemic, there’s civil unrest, the national election is heating up, and there are schools and colleges trying to open up safely in the coming weeks. We are in the midst of a great storm! This storm has inflicted untold physical and economical pain around the world for more than six months. Many tears have been shed over the coronavirus and its reign of death, financial ruin, and social anxiety. We are troubled with the world situation. I’m not sure if members of the church family know that I remotely do website services for several churches. And at one church I serve which is out of state, about every week the pastor of that church requests prayer for members or friends who are infected with COVID-19. No words can express my sorrow for the pain I feel for that congregation and for their tears. But we’ve seen stories like that on the news. When we look at the world we find that everything is messed up. We are troubled with the world situation. It seems the whole world is in tears. At a time like this it seems natural to ask the question “Where is God in all of this?” Most of us don’t verbalize questions like that. The truth is that most of us are somehow afraid to ask difficult or challenging questions about God. We don’t want to ask questions that make us seem irreligious or disrespectful to God. And yet many of us are unsure of what our response should be. What is a distinctively Christian response to tragedy? The Story of Job You’ll recall the story of Job found in the Old Testament. Job was a wealthy and prosperous man who lost everything. When tragedy struck Job everyone around asked if job was suffering because of some secret sin in his life? They wondered what he had done to earn the disfavor of God? (People today are wondering if the Pandemic is punishment for some sin)? The Old Testament book that tells Job’s story has as many as 300 questions. And in the end God doesn’t answer Jobs questions. Many of us will never have our questions answered either. God does not promise to answer all our questions but he does promise to stick with us and help us when tragedies strike. Where is God in all of this? Look around-God is right here! God doesn’t always reveal why things happen but He does reveal Himself. In the midst of tragedy God has called us to live out distinctly Christian lives. Can you see it around you… can you see God revealed in the lives of people. A Groaning World We live in a groaning world. This planet moans in agony. Sin has wreaked havoc on this planet and all of humanity. Pain is all too common and suffering seems to be the norm. I got a call yesterday about a death in a family. I could feel the painful tears in their heart. In times like these I have had people ask me what God is trying to teach them. And others wonder if it is possible to have enough faith to get rid of their pain. But maybe part of the reason that we don’t always find answers to such questions is because we are asking the wrong questions. Maybe God isn’t trying to teach us anything specific through individual pain and suffering. Pain and suffering, tragedy and violence are a part of the fallen, sinful world that we live in and no one – not even Christians – are exempt from the effects that sinfulness and selfishness have wrought on this planet. C.S. Lewis once wrote that “Pain is God’s megaphone to rouse a deaf world.” Pain and tragedy can be redeemed if we allow it. In the Bible Jesus never really gives the why of suffering, He only tells what we ought to do in response to it. Where is God in all of this? Look around...God is Right here! Distinctively Christian Perspective Romans 5:1-5 says, “Therefore, since we have been justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. More than that, we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” These words were written by the Apostle Paul. Paul’s life was full of tragedies. Out of his own experience he describes a distinctively Christian approach to tragedy. Paul gives us seven principals to apply in our lives; faith; peace; grace; perseverance; character; hope; love. Faith we are taught is a synonym for trust. Faith is about believing God for good even when we don’t understand. The second principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is… Peace is a gift from God that flows from faith. Peace comes when we truly believe that God is in charge and that God is good. Illustration Somewhere in the New England States there was a painting contest and the theme was peace. And when the contest was narrowed down to two very different paintings the judge held up the one that won, it was of a horrific storm. The sky was dark and gloomy. The the judges pointed out why the painting won, in the corner was a rock ledge with a cove cut out of it, a bird was laying in its nest not bothered by the storm because it was at peace. Have you seen peace in the storm? Where is God in all of this? Look round…God is right here! The third principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is… Grace is God’s goodness as it is revealed to us. Grace is God’s mercy in our lives. Grace is God’s blessings…Grace is God’s hand upon us …Have you seen Grace upon others? The fourth principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is…                               Perseverance is not giving up, even in the face of adversity. It’s only through God’s grace and mercy being expressed in us that we have the strength to remain faithful. Have you seen people of God not giving up?  That’s perseverance! The fifth principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is… Character is an indefinable quality of the soul. Character is very often forged in the fires of adversity. It is built on the workbench of hardship. Have you seen godly character in the lives of others? The six principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is… Hope…“It is only when everything is hopeless that hope begins to be a strength. Like all the Christian virtues, Hope is as unreasonable as it is indispensable.” Have you seen hope in other’s lives? Where is God in all…Look around – God is right here!   The seventh principle of a Christian approach to tragedy is… Love is the driving force through it all. “And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.” It is through experiencing the love of God and expressing it to one another that we are ultimately strengthened and given power for the journey. Have you seen Love around you?  Look around! God is right here! None of us seeks tragedy for ourselves nor should we ever wish tragedy on others. However, from a Christian perspective comes the confidence that God can and will use tragedy for good. Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose.” Conclusion Here, at the beginning of a new month that promises to be every bit as stressful as the last, I want us to know: “Where is God in all of this?” Because we need to know how to connect to a God who is bigger, more powerful, more able and better equipped than we are to navigate this world we live in. We need to know and believe that God isn’t just “out there” somewhere. Look around—He is right here…He knows and cares about our concerns. Tears often become trails to Christ. They can pave a way for spiritual healing. We can see Jesus through our tears. He knows what tears are. Jesus wept! There’s no better time than now to weep with those who weep (Romans 12:15). Let us turn our eyes to the Prince of all peace, Jesus Christ. Where is God in all of this? Look around...God is right here!